Sports ramblings…with a Yankees bias!

A Future of “Pleasantville” Yankees Books…

CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

The word is that the Yankees want to incorporate confidentiality agreements into their player and management contracts to include a “non-disparagement clause” and prevent future books like The Yankee Years, or those written by Jim Bouton, Graig Nettles, David Wells, et al. From my perspective, they should. If you pay CC Sabathia $181 million, you should not have to be subject to a potentially harmful book at the end of the contract if there is player dissatisfaction. Joe Torre was paid very well during his years as Yankees manager. By the end of his tenure, I believe (although I have not confirmed it) that he was in the upper echelon of the pay scale for MLB managers. Maybe he hasn’t said anything in the book that he hasn’t said before or there are quotes that are improperly attributed to him, but the fact remains that he wrote a book that has caused controversy and does not help team chemistry or morale.

The Yankees have the right to protect the confidentiality and the sanctity of the clubhouse. No one is going to write a ‘behind closed doors’ book about the Kansas City Royals clubhouse, but because the Yankees are the big market, high-profile team that is committed to winning, they will always draw more scrutiny than other teams, including Boston. Well, unless you live in Boston, of course. As such, the Yankees deserve the added measure to ensure “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”.

RECOMMENDED BOOK

Speaking of The Yankee Years, I have ordered my copy through Amazon. In the way of “Good Cop, Bad Cop” with the Torre book representing the bad cop, I also purchased Confessions of a She-Fan by Jane Heller. Yankees fans should be familiar with the great works of Jane Heller through her outstanding blogs, and judging by the reviews I’ve read, we will be even greater fans after reading her latest book.

If you pull up the book through Amazon, there is an excellent editorial review and description of the book. I am looking forward to reading the book, and I get more jazzed about it with each review I read. Personally, I think this book is a must-read for any baseball fan…

DID YOU SEE THOSE PHOTOS?

The photos on the WCBS Newsradio 880 website showing the different colors of Yankee Stadium are tremendous. The blue lights as shown below are fascinating, but the website also has photos of the stadium in red, pink, and green.

Photo: Tom Kaminski/WCBS 880

April can’t get here fast enough!

JUST WONDERING…

With free agent prices continuing to drop, would the Yankees try to make a counter move should the Red Sox sign Adam Dunn to bring his 40 home runs to Fenway? I know, I can’t let go of the fascination with having Manny Ramirez in the lineup. I know the baggage that comes with the player, but I lived in Los Angeles last year and the city was electrified by what Manny brought to the team. I have admired Manny since his days in Cleveland and he was always a favorite even when he played in Boston. He’s a great clutch hitter (obviously) and he has that extra “something-something” that Reggie Jackson possessed. Plus, as a side benefit, you’d take the player away from, as Derek Jeter would say, Mr. T. Okay, $75 million for retribution is a high price to pay. But even a Yankees fan can dream, right?

Another free agent that I think still makes great sense is pitcher Juan Cruz. Working out of the Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen in 2008, he was 4-0 in 57 games with 2.61 ERA and 71 strikeouts. He is a 30 year old right-hander. Granted, Damaso Marte could close if necessary, but having Cruz late in the game would give Joe Girardi another very valuable weapon. Mariano Rivera has been great, arguably the greatest closer the Yankees have ever had. But time takes its toll and he is more vulnerable to injury at this point in his career than ever before. Like with Jorge Posada and the catching position, I feel very strongly that the Yankees need a strong contingency plan in place behind Mo.

I guess this is Super Bowl week, so here’s my prediction…Steelers 31, Cardinals 17. My kids live in Arizona and are Cardinals fans, but I just can’t bring myself to pick them to win. They surprised me by making it this far, but I think the bubble bursts on Sunday. As a long-suffering Vikings fan, I hate seeing ex-Vikings always winning Super Bowls, but Mewelde Moore and coach Mike Tomlin should add their names to the list…

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

5 Comments

From what I’ve heard, no one in the Yankees club house really agrees with Torre’s book. But it does seem like a wise idea to begin a confidentiality clause, especially for the Yankees being such a well known team. The Yankees stadium photo is absolutely amazing! I’m a little disappointed to see that you’re pulling for the Steelers. I’m mostly in different, but I would call myself more of a Steelers fan than a Cardinals fan, but, I gotta cheer for the underdog, c’mon 61 years without a championship? Do you want them to be the Cubs?
Emilyhttp://deconstructingthoughts.mlblogs.com/

I don’t know how I feel about a confidentiality clause in the contracts. Wouldn’t such a clause have prevented books by Yogi and any other pro-Yankee book from being written? Or would it only be enforced if the book was deemed to be negative? I know that I will be reading both books and making up my own mind. And I’m with you – I just can’t bring myself to cheer for the Cardinals, so GO STEELERS!

Wow, that’s a really cool picture! I think the Superbowl will be very interesting. I’m not that big of a football fan, but since the Steelers knocked off the Chargers…I guess I hope Arizona wins. But Pittsburgh is more likely…http://kaybee.mlblogs.com

Wow, Fid. (Or should I call you Ellwoodd? Help me on this!!!) I’m feeling the pressure now. I sure hope you like the book as much as you expect to. I’ve been getting wonderful feedback so far (did you see John Sterling’s “laugh/cry” quote the other day?), but it’s always nerve-wracking to have a book come out. I just want people to relate to my journey in some way, as crazy as it gets at times.

As for the confidentiality clause, I’d hate to see that happen. Books like “Ball Four” would never have seen the light of day. I don’t think every player wants to tell tales. I also don’t think the Yankees would ever get any agent to let his client sign a contract with that clause in it, do you?

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.